Which is the bigger nightmare: raging, flesh-eating zombies or human beings out of control?

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2011)

When animal activists in London set free a laboratory chimp infected with a deadly virus, they unwittingly unleash a plague that consumes the entire planet. A small group of Britishers who have survived the apocalypse hear a radio transmission from the military and decide to risk the three-day drive to an Army outpost in Manchester, though not without consequence: marauding zombies who feast on the living are socked away everywhere, ready to attack. Suspenseful horror film with an astounding artistic eye, courtesy director Danny Boyle, though with a frenetic, action-packed finale which releases much of the suspense and tension built up in the first two-thirds of the picture. Still quite an extraordinary achievement, particularly for the over-crowded and overly-familiar end-of-the-world movie genre. Followed by a 2007 sequel, "28 Weeks Later", which featured a different cast and Boyle as co-producer. **1/2 from ****